Mendon-Upton iPad policy prompts ACLU complaint

Tuesday

Aug 19, 2014 at 10:32 AMAug 20, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Mary MacDonald CORRESPONDENT

The ACLU of Massachusetts has filed a state complaint over an iPad policy in the Mendon-Upton School District that it says allows only low-income students to take home district-provided devices, while other students would have to purchase technology for home use.

The complaint, filed with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, challenges the iPad initiative at Miscoe Hill Middle School, which allows students identified as qualifying for free or reduced price meals, to take district devices home.

All other students can either choose to use a district device only at school, or have their parents purchase an iPad that they could use at home, according to a menu of options on the system's website, the complaint states.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the policy violates state law by not providing all students with equal access to educational resources.

"The discrepancy between these options directly disadvantages students whose parents cannot, or choose not, to purchase iPads," wrote Sarah Wunsch, the ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts deputy legal director.

"Those students are not able to use the iPad at home in the evenings, on weekends, or on holidays to do their homework and continue the learning that this District has deemed an important, if not necessary, part of their school curriculum."

The complaint was filed on behalf of Mendon parent Michael Watson, who said in a phone interview that he had tried unsuccessfully for more than a year to get the Mendon-Upton district to voluntarily change its policy.

Superintendent Joseph P. Maruszczak could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Watson, who has a son at Miscoe Hill Middle School, said he felt the policy was unfair when he first started investigating his options for purchasing an iPad for his son. Although his family can afford to purchase a device, Mr. Watson said it is not fair to students whose parents might not be able to.

The complaint will trigger a state review of the policy, he said.

"Schools must provide equal access to education, regardless of your ability to pay," he said.

Children without access to iPads, or wireless internet at home, cannot become more familiar with the apps, or the materials, or collaborate with each other outside school hours, he said.

"This isn't fair to anybody," Mr. Watson said.

The district's iPad initiative at Miscoe Hill dates to 2012, according to the district's website, when it was introduced to students in the seventh grade in a pilot program. It has now moved through all grade levels at the middle school.

According to the summary online, the purpose is to develop student skills in research, collaboration, developing presentations and other tasks. The system also has a similar policy at Nipmuc Regional High School.

For families who choose to purchase an iPad, the district website provides several payment options. The cost varies by design, but the devices typically are several hundred dollars each. An iPad Air, with Apple Care tech support, will cost $592 for Nipmuc students, for example.

The district also recommends that parents purchase insurance for the devices. Wireless access at home is not required, the district said, but for students who have to complete assignments, access to wireless can be found in some public spaces, including the library.

The iPad is not required for out-of-school use. But according to the ACLU, when the district decides that a particular subject or type of instruction is a part of its curriculum, it is required to provide those supplies "free of charge."

It cited case law, including one dating to 1942, in which typewriters were found to be covered under this law once districts found that type-writing was "an expedient subject to teach."

Mr. Watson said the district should provide the iPads to all students, if it is to become a district initiative. Students whose parents have no trouble affording the technology will have access to them out-of-school, he said. Students who qualify for free- or reduced-price lunches and breakfasts, based on their family income and size, also will have access to the device 24-7, he said.

"If you fall just above that, you're out of luck," Mr.Watson said, of the federal threshold for assistance. "Those are the kids I'm worried about."